Quick Answer
- Eternal September offers truly free access to Usenet text groups only.
- Usenet.Farm offers a modest 10 GB free, no time limit, and no card required.
- Consider a free Usenet trial from, where you get full-speed access, for example Newshosting offers a 7-day promo trial on large backbone
Free Usenet Trials
The easiest way to get a free Usenet trial is to use reputable providers that offer data‑limited access so you can test speed, retention, and completion.
Here are the best free Usenet trials I’ve found:
Usenet Trial Details & Cancellation Details
Here are the main Usenet providers offering trial-style access, what you actually get, and how to cancel without surprises.
Newshosting
Trial style: Classic trial (often 7–14 days on promos, with a data cap) via deal pages.
What you actually get: Full-speed access, long retention, and a bundled newsreader with built-in search.
How to cancel cleanly:
- Log in to your Newshosting Account Control Panel.
- Go to “Update Your Payment”.
- Scroll down and click “Cancel Account”.
- Your access usually stays active until the end of the period, so cancel at least a day before renewal.
Easynews
Trial style: No true free trial; instead, a 30‑day money‑back guarantee on new plans.
What you actually get: Unlimited use of the web Usenet interface, SSL encryption, and full retention. If you cancel in the first 30 days, you can request a refund.
How to cancel cleanly:
- Log in at
account.easynews.com. - Go to My Account → “Cancel Account” and confirm.
- You usually remain active until the period ends.
- If you were billed, open a support ticket within 30 days and request the money‑back refund.
Pure Usenet
Trial style: 7‑day free trial or low‑cost first month (varies by promotion).
What you actually get: Full access to a Netherlands backbone, ideal for privacy‑friendly setups when combined with a separate VPN like PIA or Proton.
How to cancel cleanly:
- Log in to the “My Pure” admin panel.
- Go to Change Payment Information.
- Click “Cancel Account” at the bottom and confirm.
- Renewals stop; access continues until the current term ends.
Trial style: 10 GB free, no time limit, and no card required.
What you actually get: Enough data to test your newsreader and indexer without giving any billing details.
How to cancel cleanly:
- Initially, there’s no subscription at all until you add payment.
- If you later buy a plan, go to your account/billing page.
- Cancel any active recurring product listed there to avoid further charges.
You can use a Server that is FREE, But No use Binairies , You can own it
Allready Configured its a Text usenet Server , Follow the Readme or TXT files
Link : http://gallaxial.com:8080/main.html?download&weblink=50f8454a85ba7adc01ba914d90f9d764
none of these are free, then why this?
I have used both UsenetBucket and XSNews.
usenet.farm is not free!
This is the relevant info:
Start your free trial (10GB)
No creditcard or other payment info required, try without pay!
how old and outdated is that article?
Its header promises “By Grey One / April 24, 2024 / 48 Comments / Usenet” – but its comments date back until 2014
The promised free offers like eweka and newshosting are not free any more.
I’ve updated the article over the years
Awesome very helpful!
great post
AIOE.org is down?!
Yes, it is. Ping doesn’t get a response. It’s been down for about two weeks now, their website isn’t reachable either, IMHO it’s gone for good.
AIOE info as of Thu, 26 Jan 2023 15:41:43 -0000 (UTC)
“The RAID controller failed and its failure damaged the contents of the disks. Today or tomorrow they let me know what can be recovered, if nothing the recovery times will be long.
best regards”
I am going to download from Usenet. Thank you so much for your sharing. You are offering such a wonderful resource here, and you do so without charge.
I should find out today or tomorrow what, if anything, can be retrieved and how long it will take.
well-written article.
well written. good content.
JOHNNNNNNNNNN!
Just received spam from newhosting.com on the address I only provided to free-usenet.com. John may have sold his contact list.
Looks like free-usenet.com is down.
Worked fine for me, for the simple use I had for it.
Domain Name: FREE-USENET.COM
Registry Domain ID: 2010004251_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.PublicDomainRegistry.com
Registrar URL: http://www.publicdomainregistry.com
->Updated Date: 2020-12-02T14:56:56Z
Creation Date: 2016-03-07T16:35:56Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2021-03-07T16:35:56Z
Registrar: PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com
Registrar IANA ID: 303
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: abuse-contact@publicdomainregistry.com
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.2013775952
Domain Status: clientDeleteProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientDeleteProhibited
Domain Status: clientHold https://icann.org/epp#clientHold
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited
Domain Status: clientUpdateProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientUpdateProhibited
Name Server: NS1.SUSPENDED-DOMAIN.COM
Name Server: NS2.SUSPENDED-DOMAIN.COM
DNSSEC: unsigned
URL of the ICANN Whois Inaccuracy Complaint Form: https://www.icann.org/wicf/
whatever it means
I have a large block account still left with them and I am able to connect to the NNTP server IP direct @ 116.202.235.126. DNS for their domain is now completely gone but the server is currently still online if you have a block. No way to reach “JOHN” to see what’s up.
Hey Ben,
http://116.202.235.126:8080/login/ provides a login prompt.
Sadly, lost my pwd…. what would have been the forgotten password url?
Indeed, terrible that it’s gone. I had just taken up John’s Black Friday offer and bought more blocks &{
Can anybody suggest a comparable service not on subscription basis? Maybe link to article here on Greycoder, just for peeps like me who have arrived here while looking for answers to “what happened to free-usenet.com?”
btw, scroll down to Ben’s message from 17.Dec. 2020 he can still connect. (John.. don’t switch off. Hey, whats my pwd?)
Honestly, John (free-usenet.com) should have sent out a last email letting people know about things.
Hi All,
I’m getting this to. unfortunate..
Did also buy a block account, just used a litte off the first one.
No email from John, that he is quiting…
real Bummer..
Ooh and ip addess does not wordt anymore.
Any news on free-usenet?
Haven’t seen or heard a thing
good
nice
Stay clear of ‘free-usenet.com’!
Their luring ‘free’ service is a joke, at 1Mbit and with a password change every three hours.
But far worse: if you buy a block (as I did) and get the promise of a ‘3100day retention’ you will be surprised to find out that this backend server cannot even return binaries that are about one year old. You WILL get data (counting against the paid bandwidth!), but it is garbage, cannot be repaired, as even all the PAR files are corrupt.
Totally useless, a real scam. On top you will get ZERO support or reply from this guy.
BTW: I tested the same NZBs at a different free site (XS); despite being slow it could pull ALL the parts without a single missing block!
Do not even consider ‘free-usenet.com’ – you will waste your time (and money).
indeed. It’s impossible to download more than 10,000 headers anymore and when you do, you can’t append new headers! Their system is extremely buggy and it only works a few minutes at a time.
thanks for the warning! –S.
Haha, first answer…”While not free, 10 euros per year is pretty cheap…”
What’s with all the Trolls? GreyCoder is a free information service. If you don’t like it, go somewhere else. WTF?!!??
One constant of the Internet… morons are everywhere!
None IS free, not “are”
Anonymous,
“None of them IS free, not “are.” You should stay anonymous. Winston Churchill spoke for all of us when he said, “Up with such pedantry, I shall not put.” None (of them) ARE free. Take that, you insufferable $%#^&#@^*..
yeah i’m sorry i have to agree, there already is an article i see named for the Free Trials. A free trial is not the same as free. Why have both articles up?
OK let me know if you find any reliable free Usenet providers..and I’ll add them to this article.
Yes, none can be singular or plural depending upon the context. Back to English 101 for those who disagree. For example: “none of the people agree with you” is perfectly fine. Sounds much better than “none of these people agrees with you,” doesn’t it?
Any easy to use?
andirr@andir.es
https://free-usenet.com
They are free to try out, which is about the closest I could find.
Well,I have a freewebhosting to you,the website is http://www.host.在线, Thank you.
That was a really helpful post. Thanks!
iLoad – http://www.usenet.eu
Evaluate for free (up to 10 GB or 2 weeks)!
Anonymous, no data except e-mail address!
No forced subscription!
Includes free software client! (EN DE)
Includes free usage of our usenet index and search!
snelNL – http://www.snelnl.com
Fast test (3 days)
Unlimited downloads
180 Mbit, about 22.5 MB/s speed
Includes free usage of our usenet index and search!
Includes free software client! (EN DE NL)
ENJOY!!
snelnl “Privacy” policy:
SnelNL requests certain personally identifiable information about you when you register, purchase services / products from, or otherwise use the SnelNL Website. You always have the right to decline our request for your information and to choose not to continue using the Website. You may choose not to provide your personal information through any of the forms on our Website, with the condition that we may not be able to provide the related service to you. We collect general contact information about you such as your name, address, e-mail address and credit card number. Additionally, we do monitor and collect information about your use of the Website through your IP address, computer settings or most recently visited URL.
What’s wrong with this picture:
Article title; “The Best Free Usenet Servers 2016”
Article date; “April 10, 2014”
Not much. I update the articles every year, sometimes I don’t update the original publication date.
https://usenet.cloud allows downloading binary news from usenet to the cloud.
Service is completly free, no sign up required! All you need is a web-browser 🙂
BETA FEATURES
– All connections are secured trought 256-Bit SSL
– Video and audio streaming (computer, tablet, smartphone)
– Automated verification, PAR2 reparation and ZIP/RAR extraction of files
– 1996 days of binary retention
– 5GB of cloud storage for FREE
– Unlimited data transfer
– Unlimited download speed
– Up to 30 simultaneos download connections
Looks like you no longer exists. G’bye.
prima site ga zo door.
try it
https://Free-Usenet.com
Speed: 1Mb/s
Retention: 1100days
Posting: No
Traffic: Unlimited
Simple registration – no personal info needed
Send me news
I have used both UsenetBucket and XSNews.
UsenetBucket is faster and has English support, while XSNews is a noticeably cheaper.
I think his point is that the article is aimed at binaries and not actually using Usenet as a discussion forum. Hence all the servers have amazing low retention and the article is more focused on bandwidth and # of connections etc. Maybe the article should be titled “Best Free Usenet Servers for Binaries 2014” 🙂
The two mentioned (gmane or eternal-september) are for discussion and not for binaries.
-3j